erikaw1971

Hey Jen. You are the only other CDH surgery patient I know. I thought I would commiserate with you. It has taken so long to feel restriction. I went in a couple of months ago and BEGGED for more - seriously! He started giving me 2ccs the last two times and finally I'm feeling some restriction. I still need another 1 or 2ccs I think, though. My port site looks like I've been punched a few times in the gut - ugly blue bruise. It does seem to take about 5-6 stabs to get it into the port. What is up with that? I do blame his nurse. She actually said in front of me to the doc that she didn't think I should get 2ccs again and told him to do 1cc. He saw my snarl and did 2ccs. Smart man. Think I might need to muzzle the nurse, though. :cursing:

Wow. Those are some stunning numbers. Congratulations May Bandsters! I'm not on here much, mostly just lurking, but I was banded May 20th. My doc is slowwwwww at fills. 1cc then 1cc then 2ccs (me begging) and another 2ccs (me begging again). So, 6 ccs as of just last week in a 14 cc band. It seems like it's taken forever to feel some restriction, which I finally do. I probably need another 1-2ccs but I'm happier with my doc finally. I feel like I lost 3 months of prime weight loss time, though. In any case, two of my three kids are finally back in morning Kindy and Preschool so I can walk now and start my running (slow jogging) again soon! I'm so excited. It's 1.22 miles to the school and back home. I do it twice on Monday and and once on Tues-Fri. I'm am loving it and hoping it will help melt the weight off. I'm certainly eating a lot less now. (I've been a fairly healthy eater quality-wise since having kids, but I've always made up for that in serious quantity!) I can't wait to see everyone's progress by Christmastime. Sounds like a lot of people will be close to goal.:cursing:

Does anyone else have a doctor that only puts in 1cc at a time when you have the large size AP band? I understand being conservative, but this seems ridiculous. My doc's office says 4-6 weeks between visits/fills. They want you to lose 1-2 lbs per week. I had good weight loss at the beginning. Great, in fact, but that's because I had a pretty swollen stomach and that gave e great restriction. Now I have no restriction with a total of 2 ccs in my band - from two visits. I called today and they scheduled my next visit for 4 weeks from my last visit. Holy hell. Is it really supposed to work this way? No band function until you get restriction - could be 7-8 months before that happens (7-8ccs). Until then I am on my own? I am losing the lbs. they want, but it's all me and I'm getting tired of it, just like I always get tired of diets. There is no help...no tool that I can feel. I can keep this up for a few more months, but I need restriction. I mean, I thought that was the whole point of a band - restriction. Argh. (My docs office did not explain how long it could take to get restriction. They never said I could only get 1cc at a time and only every 4-6 weeks.) Has anyone had any success annoying the crap out of their doc until he gives you more cc's?

@JuliansMom...THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Wii reminder. I have a brand new Wii Fit still in the package in the basement. Never opened it! If I get up 30 minutes before the kids I can get something done on there. I have some freeweights, too, so I can do a strength training mix on it, if there's something like that. I've never even looked at it (gift from well-meaning parents, at least, I think it was well-meaning). :tongue2: @Adagray...there are two large gyms here, a YMCA and a Park District Center that offer childcare, but it's not cheap. My problem is my 6 year old with high-functioning autism...they won't watch her (for liability reasons apparently). Although the money for them watching three would still be outrageous. (Chicago suburbs are a ripoff.) I've so tried to figure out a way to join a gym. Babysitters for three kids with one autistic are like $22/hour minimum. It's $18/hour just for 3 regular kids. I can't find a vomiting smiley. And I hear ya...as I've been typing this I've been asked for four different things...my mind is like mush but my thighs are like steel. :eek: I do have a pedometer that they gave me at the bariatric center. I suppose I really should look more at the things I have int his house (if I could find them all). I'll strap that thing on and check out how much I am actually walking per day.

And Jachut...that is totally how I packed on the pounds...coffee and sugar and anything to give me the energy to make it through the day starting six-seven years ago. I didn't know a person could gain so much weight so quickly. I have been without caffeine now since surgery and I'm starting to think it was a serious appetite stimulant for me previously. I'm still a bear at about 2pm, in my desperate hour of need, but hopefully that feeling will be gone soon - I'm sure the children hope so. Thanks for the thoughtfulness. It's especially helpful to hear from another mom of three!

That sounds great and works well for someone without kids or whose kids are in daycare. Before I had kids I got up early worked out at a gym before heading to the office. I do miss that kind of focused alone time. My options for a gym are before the kids get up or after hubby gets home. Considering he's out the door at 6:45am to catch a train and then back in the front door at 7pm, well, it would be funny to watch the the household implode. I'm all about putting myself on the list...I did when I had the surgery (and the 12 months pre-op planning for the HMO to pay for it), but I am not a one person show again until they get a little older (about 2 years - when the littlest one is in preschool). So, it looks like swimming is my summer activity until school starts at the end of August and I can use the jogger for the soon-to-be 2-year-old. Ooooh, this is a good excuse to get a suit that fits properly and is conducive to actual swimming...Land' End here I come.

I actually like the walking, but only have a single jogger. Once summer ends and school starts again, things get to be more doable. My 3 year old will get picked up by the bus for preschool in the morning and I will be walking my 6 year old to Kindy at the local school. The 2 year old can ride in the stroller and then I can jog/run with him since we'll finally be alone. We have a prairie path nearby that is nice. Until then, I'll have to stick with the prairie path on weekends when my husband can watch the two girls (or all of them - but that's a dream). Our schedule sucks mostly because my hubby is gone from 7am-7pm (works in the city...train time) during the week, so during summer it's just me and the kiddos and four hours a week of therapy for Charlotte (autism). I do get to swim at my parents' pool at least once a week, usually about 3 times a week, so maybe I'll start doing laps. I've never really considered swimming much exercise because I never really feel the burn, but hey...swimmers have good bodies so it must be decent exercise. I know the more I lose, the more active I'll be. In fact, I used to love running in my prior life when I weighed 140. I figure at about 215 lbs, I'll be a lot more interested in running again; that and I'll need the Oprah running bra that let's NOTHING jiggle. Is there something that can keep a bum from jiggling too? Thanks for the understanding, ladies. I'm going to see if the kids will give me 15 more minutes to research swimming exercises. And maybe when hubby gets home I can check Craigslist for a double jogger, although our garage is so full, I'll have to keep it in the living room.

So I was banded May 20th and things seem to be going well. I have lost quite a bit in a few weeks and really don't feel like eating much. I've had sashimi a couple of times now and that's my pig out session (5 pieces max) - fish only, no rice, of course. I'm feeling pretty good. The exercise physiologist has been on me about exercise, and well, I've been fudging. I said that I walk the dog every day, but I don't. Poor Zoe. I said that I've tried the treadmill a few times, but I didn't. I feel such pressure to do formal exercise for her to write in her notes or journal or whatever, but I'm not feeling the love enough to do it. My day is chasing after small children, bathing them, playing outside, going to the zoo, feeding them (not me), walking at the mall, running errands. I don't sit down more than a couple of times a day at the computer and only for a few minutes. The idea of being on my feet even more makes me want to scream. I do strength training...my 1 year old is 33 lbs, the same weight as my 3 year old, and they like to be carried. My arms are well muscled even if there is fat over them, darn it. I just don't have a lot of motivation for formal exercise yet. Is there some kind of pill for that? If so, can it be made into a liquid form?

I was just banded last Thursday. I was on clear liquids until my doc came to see me Friday night (ended up in the hospital an extra night because of an unknown antibiotic allergy). Friday night he said that I could move on to pureed foods and that he thought I could handle them fine. Okay...I thought I was supposed to go to full liquids, but he's the boss. So, I had yogurt and applesauce and was full after a couple of spoonfuls. My band seems to handle it okay. This morning (Tuesday) the bariatric nurse calls and asked how I was. I told her I was on pureed and that I had had a bit of tuna and a scrambled egg. She then started to say I should only be on liquids. I told her to check the chart and I was only doing what the doc said and she checked and said...well, we usually don't do that, but, you're right, it is noted. However, you should still only do liquids. Ummm....what? The fact is...no one has the right answer for what to eat yet. Probably not enough decisive studies yet. I'd say go by your doctor, but hey, if you do that, you still get reamed out apparently. Me, I'm sticking to about 1/4 cup cottage cheese, a scrambled egg maybe and a few small forks of tuna on occasion (this is over a couple days), otherwise it's Protein shakes for me. (My band was not filled but my stomach was fatty and thus putting the band on has caused restriction. Doc says when I start losing a decent amount of fat, the band will have less restriction and then we might need to fill it. In other words, I may not need a fill for up to 6 months at first!)

Regarding how much a sleep study costs...I would agree $1500 self pay would seem like the max. My HMO referral listed the sleep study and amount they get paid $387. So, considering the HMO gets about a 50-60% discounted rate, I'd go with around $800-$1000...and I live in a crazy mark-up suburb of Chicago. Good luck on your journey!

I just found out that I did a CPAP mask fitting and CPAP titration sleep study yesterday/last night for nothing!:frown: A few minutes ago called the bariatric center to see what, if anything was missing from my chart so that I could make sure that the file went to Dr. Vallina for review and insurance approval pronto. They said we were only missing my PCP clearance letter. (She was supposed to do that two weeks ago, but whatever, she has no problem giving clearance.) I said, well, we're waiting for Pulmonology, too, but that was just finished last night and we should get it in a couple of weeks. She said nope...you got Pulmonology clearance March 15th. No. No nonononono! The nurse at Pulmonology said I needed to continue to get a mask fitting and CPAP titration. Argh!!!! What a waste of time and insurance company money. :thumbup: I need a beer/wine/margarita...and I don't even drink.

Well, I managed to get an earlier CPAP titration sleep study by being on a wait list, so I had the mask fitting yesterday morning and the study last night. I got the Opus Nasal Pillows and they seemed the least claustrophobic. Riddle me this: I fell asleep without a problem and slept for 6-7 hours with this alien nose thing on. I woke up and felt like total crap. I was so tired this morning that I almost fell asleep while driving home and I NEVER have felt that way in my 22 years of driving. I thought this was supposed to make me feel great...like the best sleep in years kinda thing. Ummm...WTH? In any case, I should have pulmonology clearance (I don't have to get a home machine) in a few days, doc review of my file and then off for insurance approval. Let's hope they can actually accomplish something quickly here because I have vacation in May. So here's to being done with CPAP and sleep studies. BLAH!

Hey sushi ladies! I am so happy to know that I can probably still do a roll but just chew the heck out of it. And sashimi....yum. :drool:Love that, too, especially when it is tuna that literally melts in your mouth. Can't wait to enjoy it more often since it will be much cheaper if I can't finish one roll! :frown: